Retailers are good at mixing social media and e-mail marketing

By Thad RueterSenior Editor

But a new study says they lag in other e-mail tactics.

Slightly more than half of businesses in a variety of industries provide incentives for consumers who sign up for marketing e-mails, according to a study released today by GetResponse. The e-mail marketing services provider also says that 40% of businesses offer e-mail sign-ups via their Facebook pages.

GetResponse based its findings on a survey of marketers from 600 businesses conducted between Nov. 14 and 28. The businesses covered 13 industries, including retail; GetResponse did not say how many of the respondents were retailers.

Respondents involved in retail reported relatively high levels of social media integration in their e-mails—65% of the retailer respondents provided social share buttons in their marketing messages, compared with the 47% average of all industries.

The study says that 24% of retailers segment their e-mail lists based on such information as a recipient’s geographical location, consumer preferences and previous actions, such as which e-mails were opened and which links were clicked. By comparison, 42% of all respondents use segmentation, the report says.

GetResponse also says that 12% of retailers try to re-engage recipients who are inactive or who’ve not responded to e-mails for a significant period of time. By comparison, 36% of all survey respondents reported doing so.

“Publishing and hi-tech are the top-ranking sectors. They are the most advanced in e-mail marketing and in using best practices in their e-mail campaigns,” GetResponse says. “The lowest-ranking are non-profit organizations.”